Past The Point Of No Return
by SlaughterWhore
Summary: When a young violinist travels to Paris, she stumbles upon an Opera house and meets a masked man who commands her to be in his opera. But it seems their love for music is not all they have in common...


Since I can remember I have been alone. Living off of scraps and sleeping in alleys. That is how it has always been. I was left at an orphanage as a child, and the only proof of my existence was the violin I was left with that had the surname Rose carved into it. With that, I named myself Loveless Rose. It might not sound like a real name, but it is. Since I had nothing better to do I taught myself how to play the violin, and in all honesty, I'm pretty Damn good. Sometimes I go out in the street and play; I even occasionally get a few pounds.

After 17 years, I tired of England, so I saved up my money and took a boat to France. I had always heard about France, but never had I imagined it to be like this. I missed England the moment I got off of the Mary Scott. England was fairly clean and organized, but France was dirty and there were hookers at every street corner. After wandering the streets for a while, I realized it would have been helpful if I knew French, but I already had trouble writing English so it never really occurred to me. After a few hours of walking around Paris it started to rain, and boy was it cold. I glanced around but didn't see anywhere I could sleep. I turned a corner hoping to find a nice alley, but instead I was surprised to see a beautiful Opera House. Never in my life had I seen anything so lovely, it almost brought me to tears.

I was standing near the stairs when two finely dressed men walked out of the doors and began to walk down the steps of the Opera house. I hid myself behind a statue and watched the men pass. They got inside a waiting hoarse drawn carriage and left. When the coast was clear I stood and glanced once more at the magnificent building. There were statues on the roof and gold everywhere. Without much thought I strode up the steps and peered inside. Although it was dark, I spied a grand room with marble floor and pillars. I gasped as I pressed myself against the door. Suddenly the door opened and I fell forward onto the polished floor. Cursing I sat up and glanced behind me, the men had forgotten to lock the door. With great excitement I stood up and ran up the stairs of the opera house.

I reached a balcony and peered down, before me was a humongous room with hundreds of red seats that surrounded a stage. I looked up and saw a grand chandelier. An audible "wow" escaped my lips and I instinctively covered my mouth. Recalling I was alone I smiled and walked down another set of stairs. As I passed the red seats I ran my hand over the tops of them, it was such a soft material. I reached the stage and stared at it. Closing my eyes I imagined a group of singers and ballerinas on stage. The Orchestra playing a sweet melody that I longed to be a part of. I opened my eyes and glanced down at my violin case.

I knelt on the stage and unlatched the case. I smiled as my eyes met my treasure. My violin was a pale white wood that was finely curved. I ran my hands down its bout and plucked the A-string. I hummed along with its sweet pitch that was perfectly tuned. I reached down a clutched my bow in hand. I ran my bow across the strings and began playing Sad Romance by Thao Nguyen Xanh. I closed my eyes tightly as I played. The melody echoed loudly throughout the room, but I didn't care. When I played I felt as if all the sadness inside could flow out of my heart. I played forte and made sure to tremolo as much as I could. The emotion swelled up inside of me and I soon felt hot tears burn my cheeks.

As I reached the end I opened my eyes and stared up at the chandelier. It seemed to sparkle in the darkness. As I played the last note I heard footsteps. My heart skipped a beat as I stared wide eyed towards the stair case. "I could have sworn I had closed that door." I gasped and hurriedly put my violin in it case. I stood and franticly glanced around, what should I do? As I began to take a step towards the edge of the stage I heard the sound of fabric brushing against fabric. I spun around and met the gaze of a masked man. I gasped. He reached towards me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest. I pulled away, but I could not escape his iron grasp. He hurriedly dragged me behind the red curtain and down a dark hall.

As we entered a room at the end of the hall. I spoke out, "W-where are you taking me?" He ignored me and stepped towards a mirror he slid it back to reveal a lit hallway. I stared down it in as he pulled me down the path. I glanced back and watched in horror as the mirror shut itself. I turned back to see the raven haired man staring at me. Half of his face was covered by a white mask, and the other half showed smooth skin with beautiful green eyes. He didn't speak to me, but only turned back to face the path.

We were soon facing a waterway. He stepped onto a gondola. He turned back and offered me his hand. Frightened I stepped back. "Do not fear me" he said. His voice was deep and soothing. Knowing no other option I reluctantly placed my palm into his gloved hand. After a couple minutes we reached a dead end. I glance around, but there were no other paths. Suddenly the wall before us rose to reveal a candle lit room equipped with an organ. I stared at the room, quite a sight it was. The gondola stopped and the man stepped out onto a step. Without another glance he took of his cloak and sat at the organ. I watched him for a moment then stepped out of the gondola. I turned around and watched the stone wall close. I shiver went up my spine, what had I done? I glanced back at the man, I had no idea if this man was dangerous our not. As if on cue the man began playing menacing notes on the organ. I flinched.

My stomach began to twist as dark thoughts ran through my mind, what if this man was a serial killer? What if he kept me hostage here? What if I was to die before ever fulfilling my dream of playing in an orchestra? I'm far too young to die! I'm only 17! My heart was racing. I glared at the man. There was only one way to find out, I gulped. "Why have you brought me here?" He slammed his hands onto the keys, creating a loud groaning sound. I gasped and stepped back. He slowly turned toward me. "Your song." I stared at him confused, "My song?" He nodded and stood from his seat in front of the organ. "Your song was full of emotion, exactly what I need for my Opera."

I blinked. "Your opera?" He stared at me. "You mean this Opera house is…yours?" He nodded and took a step toward me. "You shall be the first chair in my Orchestra." There was a long silence. He stared at me impatiently. "Do you except?" I glanced up at him, "I-I've never played in an Orchestra, certainly I cannot-". He cut me off. "You will play." Before I could respond. He stepped back and quickly scribbled a note onto a blank sheet of paper. I watched as he stamped a red skull shaped seal onto the envelope then he handed it to me. "Come back to the Opera house tomorrow and give this to Monsieur Andre, he will follow my orders and put you in my Orchestra." Dumbfounded I took the letter and stared at it. There was no way this would really work.

I felt the man's gaze and I looked up. He looked me up and down, flustered I felt my cheeks burn pink. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" I frowned and shook my head no. He closed his eyes and walked towards a black curtain. Half way there he turned and gestured me to follow. I quickly went over to the curtain, but not before taking a quick glance at myself in the mirror. My blond hair was barely tucked into my cap. My black coat was fairly clean and my pants looked more grey rather than black. I chuckled inside my mind; I really did look like a boy. I wondered if the masked man knew I was a girl.

I stood beside him and watched as he pulled a black rope. The black curtain lifted to reveal a large bed with red satin sheets. The sight of a bed spread warmth throughout my chilled body. "You can stay here for tonight." He turned away. "Thank you Mr…...um?" He glanced over his shoulder, "You may call me Erik". I smiled at him. "Thank you Erik". His face held no emotion, but I felt the hint of some meaning in his gaze.

I turned toward the bed. Grinning I carefully set my violin at the edge of the bed. I then removed my boots and jacket. I sat on the bed and inhaled. The aroma of firewood filled the air, which was very odd since that was my favorite scent. Laying back I glanced at the ceiling. There were paintings of angels and clouds on the wall. Somehow the sight of angels overhead calmed me enough to curl up and fall into a deep sleep. Little did I know what would be awaiting me in the morning.

Thank you so much for reading! I would really appreciate it if you could write a review.


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